Martis was a shock inclusion in Albion’s starting line-up in Monday night’s game at West Ham due to Abdoulaye Meite and Leon Barnett being injured, and Ryan Donk being dropped.

The Dutch Antilles international produced an excellent performance which did not unduly surprise his manager.

Mowbray has always had faith in Martis’ ability, but less so in the player’s confidence and belief. Martis now hopes to go from effectively being Albion’s fifth choice centre-half to playing a role in Saturday’s visit of Bolton.

“I think he is gaining belief and that’s why we put him out on loan to Doncaster this season,” he said. “We wanted him to get the mental confidence and belief that he can cope at a high level.

“He did well there, in the Championship, and when he was there they had four clean sheets in five games.

“You come to a stage in your mind where you don’t want to keep changing your centre-halves around and jumping from one back to the other.

“I think it was about time Shelton had a chance.

“He is 6ft 2in, he is fast, he can pass the ball, he is strong and we are just trying to develop his mentality. Once that is right he has got every chance of being a top player.”

Mowbray insists both players must maintain their level of performance.

“I would suggest after a clean sheet on Monday, Shelton and Jonas have to be the men in possession but, as we have found in the past, they must concentrate all the time at 100 per cent for 90 minutes and not give soft goals away,” added Mowbray.

“Teams in the Premier League will score goals against us because they’ve got great strikers but what frustrates me and disappoints me from the last few months is that a lot of the goals have been of our own making.

“When I go to watch games Premier League defenders just do their jobs. They head it, they defend, they put the ball in the right areas, they put their foot through it when they need to and they pass it when they can.